Sustainable Sydney 2030 is underway with the City of Sydney initiating over 60 actions in the past 12 months.
To help reanimate the city and provide new opportunities for business along George Street and surrounding areas, plans include providing more space for people and creating three new major public squares.
The vision for George Street based on urban expert Jan Gehl's work, which would provide a dedicated transport corridor for the 85 per cent of workers and visitors who do not travel to the city by car.
The city's Green Infrastructure Master Plan, the first of its kind in Australia, provided a blueprint to retrofit the city with green technologies, delivered by the public and private sectors.
"We have identified City-owned properties as a foundation for a tri-generation network, and called for tenders from the private sector for design, delivery, operation and maintenance," says Lord Mayor Clover Moore.
"Unlike centralised coal-fired power, trigeneration captures waste heat for heating or cooling. It is 85 per cent efficient compared to 30 per cent for the coal-fired system. It can significantly reduce emissions and help lower peak demand, a central reason for expensive planned network upgrades and rising energy bills.
"Starting with our sites, we can connect to nearby buildings to create 'Low Carbon Zones'. A system at Sydney Town Hall could supply adjacent St Andrew's Cathedral and school, the Queen Victoria Building, other CBD properties and even Energy Australia offices across the road."
Other key 2030 initiatives include:
- a light rail link from Central to Circular Quay and Barangaroo- construction of the first phase of our 200 km cycleway network
- a Green Infrastructure Master Plan which identifies technologies to implement low-carbon and renewable energy generation, waste and water infrastructure
- a roll-out of 8,500 energy-efficient LED lights across the city which could reduce energy use by 50 per cent
- an annual $2 million renewable energy fund and solar panels and energy efficiency measures to Sydney Town Hall and across the City property portfolio
- 8,000 new affordable rental homes for key workers together with social housing comprising 15 per cent of all city dwellings.
